It’s been discussed endlessly by governments, both Democrat and Republican, for the last few years, but the TikTok ban is real, and just months away.
Based on concerns of national security, and a deep-seated distrust of the Chinese government, the ban would see the app shutdown for its current 170 million US users.
However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, as a sale to a US company, or the incoming change of president, could reverse the impending ban.
When Is TikTok Getting Banned in the US?
Okay, here’s a date for your diary. TikTok will be officially banned in the US on January 19th, 2025.
Maybe. There are a number of caveats attached to this date, with the app’s future dependent on several factors.
Firstly, this date could well move. The ban is only in effect if TikTok can’t (or won’t) find a US company to handle its stateside users, and ensure that no US data is sent to China. If the government feels that progress is being made with the sale, but not quite complete by the deadline, it can extend it by up to 90 days.
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Of course, if TikTok does sell before this date, then the ban is off, and it can continue its business in the US.
There’s also the appeal currently being carried out by Bytedance, TikTok’s owners, which it initiated in September. This legal process is expected to be a lengthy one, and could well be ongoing way past the January ban deadline.
Then there’s the potential that Trump, who begins his second term in January 2025 after his recent election win, could well save the Chinese social media app from annihilation in the US.
Why is TikTok Getting Banned in the US?
The reason the Biden administration is looking to ban TikTok, is in the interest of national security. US and Chinese tech companies have a somewhat troublesome relationship, and this isn’t the first time the US has come down hard on the country.
In 2022 the US banned Huawei communication equipment, as well as some smaller Chinese brands, from sale, citing security concerns.
Government officials in several countries are already banned from using TikTok for the same reason. But is it founded in fact?
As recently as July this year, the Justice department issued a warning that it had evidence that TikTok is sending personal data about US users back to China, and that internal tools allow the company to scrape the data of millions of citizens to find users’ views on issues such as gun control, abortion and voting intention.
It also suggests that the platform is capable of censoring certain subjects for US citizens, though the Justice department hasn’t been able to confirm that this functionality has been used.
There are wilder concerns, too. In March, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat suggested that another reason for banning TikTok in the US was due to the Chinese Communist Party experimenting with ‘mind controlling software’.
Will Donald Trump Ban TikTok?
In September 2024, Trump posted on his own social media site, Truth Social, that he would stop the current TikTok ban if elected president. Now of course, his presidency has been confirmed, but we’re still not sure if he’ll see his promise through.
Trump’s relationship with TikTok is prickly to say the least, and it was actually his government that first called for the app to be banned, back in June 2020. Despite previous security concerns, the app had flown under his radar, until a disastrous rally that month, which saw a huge rush for tickets, but an incredibly poor turnout.
The reason for this, it turned out, was due to a malicious campaign on TikTok to apply for the free tickets, and simply not use them. A spokesperson for Trump boasted over the one million ticket applications, yet attendance was just in the thousands on the day. After this event, TikTok was in Trump’s sights, and a ban pencilled in.
However, it was the Biden administration that actually reversed this ban when it came into office – quite a turnaround from where we find ourselves today.
Trump has said that he is ‘big on TikTok’, and has amassed around 11 million followers since signing up for the app in June. Whether or not he will stick to his word and stop the ban remains to be seen, but even if he does, it won’t resolve the fears to American security that prompted the ban in the first place.
What Can I Do if TikTok is Banned?
For many Americans, the thought of TikTok disappearing overnight is a disaster. It has over 170 million users in the US, and not only that, but an estimated 7 millions small businesses use the platform, and last year generated a massive $15 billion in revenue on the app.
If the ban does happen, you can expect a lot of desperate users to try everything they can to hang onto the app.
The good news is that if you’ve already downloaded the app onto your device, then it won’t suddenly disappear come January 19th 2025. If you haven’t already downloaded it, then you may want to, as chances are that it will be removed from digital store fronts as soon as the ban is actioned.
You could sideload the app by obtaining it through unofficial channels, but it’s a dangerous practice, and could open you up to viruses and spyware (more so than what the US government is already accusing China of).
Once the ban comes in, access to the service from within the US may be blocked. If this happens, a VPN will enable you to trick the app into thinking you’re connecting to it from a country where it isn’t banned (don’t bother pretending to be in India though, it’s banned there too).
If you do do this, be aware that it could play havoc with your algorithm for a bit, and you might find an influx of ‘local’ content on your front page.
What Countries Is TikTok Already Banned In?
If the US does ban TikTok, it won’t be alone. The Chinese social media app has rustled feathers in other countries too, leading to it being banned.
Of all the counties to ban TikTok to date, India is undoubtedly the largest. In 2020 it barred TikTok, as well as dozens of other Chinese apps, citing security concerns, much like the US government has.
In November 2023, Nepal banned TikTok over concerns that it was a ‘detriment to social harmony’. In 2022, the Taliban in Afghanistan blocked the app, stating that it was ‘not consistent with Islamic laws’. Even the version of TikTok that we know, isn’t available in its native China, where a more censored version is used by Chinese citizens.
Even countries where the public are still allowed free access to TikTok, you’ll find that it is banned on government devices due to security fears, including Australia, Canada, UK, France and Denmark.
